The game of paintball involves participants carrying guns which fire pellets of xe2x80x98paintxe2x80x99 or dye which are fired from the gun and burst upon impact to leave a mark at the point of impact.
Most paintball guns use a pneumatic system for firing the paintballs using compressed air or other gas. More recently, such pneumatically operated guns have begun to be electronically controlled for greater effectiveness.
According to the present invention there is provided a paintball gun including a data link for transferring data to and/or from a remote terminal.
According to the present invention there is further provided electronic apparatus, comprising a paintball gun, a terminal and means for transferring data and/or communicating between the gun and terminal.
A display panel may be mounted on the gun or may be alternatively (or additionally) be situated remote from the gun. For example, the display panel may be a display on a remote terminal such as a computer terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a telephone or many other devices, such as components attached to the gun. Data may be transferred to the panel by a direct (wired link) for example a serial link, USB link or other link, or by a contactless method, such as by infrared communication, radio links (digital or analog), microwave links, or even by telephone/cable internet, etc.
Alternatively, the remote terminal may not have a display. It may simply store and/or process data.
Alternatively data my be transferred by means of a removable data carrier, such as a smart card, SIM, flash card, a disk or tape or other means between the gun and an external terminal.